Saturday, January 03, 2009

Revelation & Impact

People out there were probably a little confused (and possibly a little worried) after seeing this twitter just after New Year's struck midnight. It all stemmed from the interview I gave during the 24 hour podcast marathon on GSPN.TV. (BTW, I've been told that the podcast interview itself won't be available at least for a little while on the GSPN site.)

This was an interesting interview, mainly because Cliff and I were operating under little sleep. Cliff broadcasted almost all of the 24 hours, and I was in the midst of a long on-call stretch. So, the both of us were pretty entertaining. But, it was what seemed like a harmless question which seemed to set shockwaves through some people. A question that the Dr. A community has been wondering ever since I started this blog - Is Dr. A single or not?

Now, I know that this is going to sound really egotistical, but I've only learned the impact of this in the last 24-36 hours. I've received a lot of e-mail, and some of it not so good. It reminds me back of a time back in February 2007 when I first chose to do a video post. The haters were out then. I talked about it in a post called "The Myth Of Anonymous Blogging." Following my interview New Year's Eve night, the hater e-mail began again. So that got to me a little bit.

Something more important that got to me was learning how this new fact was impacting people in the Dr. A Community. I guess I didn't realize something like that would shock people. And, I'm only now figuring out that there are some hurt feeling out there - mainly that I didn't share this earlier along.

This brings up the question of how much of your real self should you share online and when and how should you share this information. And, how much of your "real" life should you keep to yourself. For me, the journey from truly anonymous to less-so anonymous, has been an interesting one.

There have been certain points of time where I chose to share a little bit about myself. Early on in my blogging career, I remember when I first showed a picture of myself on vacation on my blog. And, then, I started sharing a little bit more of where I'm exactly located.

At the beginning of 2008, I made a commitment to do video posting (at first only in black & white and now almost exclusively in color.) In the summer of 2008, I was interviewed my an online medical journal and shared my real name. And now this.

So, to my loyal readers and listeners I apologize for not sharing this sooner, but I wanted to wait for the right time and place to talk about it - and now seemed like the right time and place. Thanks to those of you out there who sent me e-mails seeing how I've been doing. I've only been "unplugged" from the internet for about 48 hours. But, for me, that feels like an eternity. I got some things sorted out and I'm ready to make a comeback. Look out world!

Dr.A, Despite my shocked tweets, this does not change anything. The shocked tone was more for expressing my dismay that even you, a superman in my eyes, fell for the marriage trap! ;) I was just wondering if some of your other female fans knew because Ramona was equally surprised/shocked that day when both of us were in the chat room at gspn.tv

I empathize with your concerns and relish in your accomplishments. Going form completely Anon.. to the Vlog and now this.. and keep on truckin' the way you do.My hats off to you and your WIFE (family).Haters will continue to hate no matter how you play. That's how they earn their title.Looking forward to 2009 with more of what you got Dr. A (or whoever you may be)!KEEP ON KEEPIN ON